What are the most important trust-building activities in Team Building?

1 Why trust matters

Trust is not just a nice-to-have quality in a team. It is a crucial factor that affects the team's performance, morale, and innovation. According to a study by Google, psychological safety, which is the belief that one can speak up and take risks without fear of negative consequences, is the most important dynamic of high-performing teams. Trust is the key to creating psychological safety, as it allows team members to be vulnerable, honest, and supportive of each other. Trust also reduces stress, conflict, and turnover, and increases engagement, loyalty, and creativity.

3 How to improve trust

Once you have established a baseline of trust in your team, you can start implementing trust-building activities in Team Building to further strengthen and maintain trust. These activities should be ongoing practices that are integrated into your team culture and routines. For example, sharing personal stories can help break the ice, find common ground, and show your human side. Giving and receiving feedback is essential for learning, growth, and improvement, so it’s important to establish a feedback culture that is frequent, constructive, specific, and respectful. Additionally, setting clear expectations and goals can help avoid confusion and misunderstanding. Celebrating successes and failures is also important for showing your team members that you value their contributions, acknowledge their challenges, and are willing to learn from them. Online tools like Icebreaker or 15Five can facilitate these activities in a fun and interactive way.

4 How to maintain trust

Trust is not something that can be built once and forgotten about; it must be nurtured and sustained over time, especially during times of change, uncertainty, or crisis. To maintain trust in your team, it is important to communicate consistently and openly, using the right channels, frequency, and tone. Honesty, transparency, and respect should be maintained while avoiding ambiguity, inconsistency, or secrecy. Tools like Slack or Zoom can help with real-time communication and updates. Conflict is inevitable but can also be an opportunity to build trust if handled properly. Address conflicts early on and focus on the problem rather than the person. Solutions should be win-win for all parties involved. Demonstrating trustworthiness is key; follow through on your promises, deliver on expectations, apologize when necessary, and act with integrity and ethics. Trust Edge or Trust Equation are online tools that can help evaluate trustworthiness and identify areas for improvement. Building trust in a team requires consistent and deliberate actions that show care, respect, and support for team members. By using some of the trust-building activities discussed in this article, you can create a more trusting and productive team that can achieve great results together.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?